A cure for Homesickness

It's safe to say that I'm feeling every one of the 8,998 miles between myself and home today. Whether it was getting drenched cycling both to and from work today in the only two showers of the day or my revulsion at watching animals being murdered all morning, something definitely feels off balance at the moment. Pondering the root of my melancholy, my thoughts soon came to the obvious conclusion. It's a well-known fact that myself, Chloe and Rachel (my two closest girlie friends and uni for anyone who doesn't know) often get a bit soppy while discussing spending all this time apart, and Chlo mentioning it the other day must have got me fretting about just how far apart we are at this moment in time:

The reality of our separation: Chloe in Iowa, Rachy slogging it out at Bath and me down under!

Times together: At Rach's 21st in Exeter this summer, watching the Bath Christmas Lights being turned on and Bath Summer Ball at the end of second year

Determined not to get myself down at the thought of missing my Ultibabes, I focussed on the place I'm lucky enough to live in right now and what an incredible opportunity this is. I'm not one to be sad for too long and soon thought of numerous reasons why this year is special. Number one: Australia is freakin' huge! Take a look at this:

I then thought that, despite being overlooked when people consider Australia and automatically think of its bigger, east coast siblings, Perth ain't so bad either. I did a little bit of research and found out the following:

Perth

Holding the title of sunniest state capital in Australia, it gets an average of 8 hours sun per day. Today was obviously an exception, judging by the mud tracks up my coat/bag/face.

Its population was largely increased when a huge number of British convicts were transported here by boat. The Australian Police Force was founded in 1789 and was comprised of the 12 "best-behaved" convicts. That explains a lot...

Deemed the "City of Light" by astronauts orbiting the Earth in the sixties, it's one of the brightest spots on the planet while viewed from space. Pretty.

The booming mining industry means that Perth has the highest number of self-made millionaires per capita on the planet. That's huge when you consider that it beats Dubai, Monaco, NYC, the lot. It has to be said, however, that I have not been swept off my feet by one of these yet. Poor show.

Former prime minister Bob Hawke held the Guinness World Record for beer chugging. I know that's more of an Australia-wide fact, but I just couldn't overlook it.

...

It might just have been a coping mechanism to distract myself from feeling a bit lonely, but my reflections made me realise that ten months isn't very long at all in the grand scheme of things and, before I know it, I'll be back with friends and family in rainy old England. Worry over!